BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — Lauren Rios is in fifth place and UTSA stands seventh after the first round of the American Athletic Conference Championship, which teed off Monday at Southern Hills Plantation Club (par 72/6,289 yards).
Rios fired a 1-under-par 71 to settled into a five-way tie for fifth place, three shots off the pace set by a pair of Tulsa golfers. The Coppell, Texas, native recorded six birdies, tied for the most posted during the opening round, while matching her season-best score from the first round of the Chevron Collegiate earlier this spring.
Rios started her day with a birdie on the 373-yard, par-4 first. Following a pair of pars, she logged a three on the 372-yard, par-4 fourth and then added her third circled number of the day with a four on the 476-yard seventh en route to a bogey-free, 3-under 33 on the front nine. She bounced back from a triple bogey on the 10th and a double on the 11th with three more birdies over a four-hole stretch, capped by a four on the 498-yard 16th.
Morgan Ellison is two shots behind her teammate in a tie for 16th at 1-over par. The senior from Georgia carded a 73 that featured a birdie on the 419-yard, par-4 14th hole.
Maria Bastarrica turned in a 76 to grab a share of 33rd. A sophomore from Spain, she wrote down four birdies on the day, including three over a four-hole stretch on the back nine.
Daniela Abonce and Olivia Williams each posted a 78 to round out the UTSA lineup in a tie for 42nd.
In the team race, the Roadrunners are in sole possession of seventh after registering a 298, two strokes ahead of Wichita State and three in front of South Florida. UTSA trails North Texas by only two shots and is just three shy of a tie for fourth between Memphis and Florida Atlantic.
Tulsa has the day-one lead after posting a 279, followed by East Carolina (286) and Charlotte (289).
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